Train strikes: More dates added for December
More rail strikes have been announced for December and including Christmas eve and after.
The fresh dates are set to disrupt travel plans even more over the festive weekend.
RMT workers will walk out from 18:00 on 24 December until 27 December as the row over pay and conditions continues.
The move comes after the union urged workers to reject the latest pay offer.
The new strikes are set to affect people travelling for Christmas as well as the hospitality industry.
The extra dates are in addition to strikes by rail workers that have already been announced and are set to start next week.
RMT ‘playing fast and loose with Christmas’
The Network Rail has accused the RMT union of “playing fast and loose with people’s Christmas plans and the new strike dates announced deliberately target vital engineering work designed to improve the railway”.
They went on to accuse the RMT of using passengers and workers’ as “pawns in a fight with the government.”
Who are the RMT?
The National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT) are one of Britain’s fastest-growing trade unions and represents staff at Network Rail – who maintain the railways and include signallers and maintenance workers. It also represents workers at 14 train operating companies involved in strike action.
The union is involved in two sets of talks in a long-running dispute over pay, jobs and conditions.
Key dates for upcoming strikes
As well as the strikes on 24-27 December, industrial action at 14 train companies across four 48-hour periods will take place on:
- 13-14 December
- 16-17 December
- 3-4 January
- 6-7 January
RMT general secretary Mick Lynch said he regrets the inconvenience that the strikes are causing “but this inconvenience is being caused by the government who are running the playbook and the strategy for the railway companies and directing what’s going on”.
The RMT will continue to hold talks with the Rail Delivery Group (RDG), which represents the 14 train companies, on Tuesday.
